Things have been slow in the CIS project world with the UN being focused on climate change. A couple of projects outside of my thesis area that were approved for new or additional funding: Yemen and Sri Lanka.
Hopefully with some additional time I can start on the meat of my thesis- data coding.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
News: Gaidar dies.
"He began his career in a branch of the Soviet planning bureaucracy examining ways to revitalize the country’s creaking command economy.
But as finance minister he abandoned the idea of instituting gradual reforms of the type he had been studying. Instead, in charge of one of the great blank slates of economic history after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he decided to move quickly to liberalize prices and begin privatizing state industry."
Full article here
But as finance minister he abandoned the idea of instituting gradual reforms of the type he had been studying. Instead, in charge of one of the great blank slates of economic history after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he decided to move quickly to liberalize prices and begin privatizing state industry."
Full article here
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
News: New Gas Pipeline
More infrastructure news, just not about roads out of the NY Times. New Gas Pipeling From Central Asia Feeds China. Looks like a new alignment brings gas into China without going through Russia.
This is more important for the development news community.
This is more important for the development news community.
Monday, December 14, 2009
News: Asian railway integration gains momentum at UN-backed meetings
World Bank news about a railway that might go through Tajikistan and other Asia/Central Asia nations.
Asian railway integration gains momentum at UN-backed meetings
Asian railway integration gains momentum at UN-backed meetings
News: Corruption/Graft still Issue in Russia and China
The New York Times ran an article a few days ago about the corruption in Russia and China. Russia ranked 146th most corrupt out of 180 countries. China was in the 70's.
Less corruption is usually due to more oversight and government openness, but not always. More information and full article here.
Less corruption is usually due to more oversight and government openness, but not always. More information and full article here.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
News: Anti-Corruption Measures and Settlements
Siemens was ordered to pay $100 million and set up anti-corruption programs after the company was caught in some illegal deals earlier this year. Looks like they are starting their programs. Non-Profits can apply for assistance immediately under the agreement that was made. More information
This past week in the UN/WB there's been a lot of talk about climate change, so there isn't much news about roads. Uganda and India were granted some transportation sector funding, but nothing in the CIS. Things will probably be slow throughout the holidays.
This past week in the UN/WB there's been a lot of talk about climate change, so there isn't much news about roads. Uganda and India were granted some transportation sector funding, but nothing in the CIS. Things will probably be slow throughout the holidays.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Confronting “Death on Wheels” // Chapter 8 : The Task Ahead: Operationalizing an Effective Response in ECA
- Commitments to sustainable, safe, and affordable transportation for development should be prioritized.
- Partnerships and knowledge sharing will be key to fostering the best results in ECA. This includes collaboration between local and state governments and international agencies.
- That concludes the paper, which is okay in parts but mostly feels like beating a dead horse. Maybe it’s just because it’s Thursday that I feel this way.
Full Report
- Partnerships and knowledge sharing will be key to fostering the best results in ECA. This includes collaboration between local and state governments and international agencies.
- That concludes the paper, which is okay in parts but mostly feels like beating a dead horse. Maybe it’s just because it’s Thursday that I feel this way.
Full Report
Confronting “Death on Wheels” // Chapter 7: Priorities for Intersectoral Work on Road Safety in ECA
- This chapter addresses the question of how to implement the 2004 World Bank Report on road safety. Mostly recommends a lead agency, international cooperation, more human and physical resources, and more money. There are some more details for how this can happen according to the recommendation.
- Increased seatbelt use and increased awareness of young drivers and pedestrians can help decrease a significant amount of fatal accidents.
- Demonstration projects should be designed in order to help support these types of projects and to provide benchmarks.
Full Report
- Increased seatbelt use and increased awareness of young drivers and pedestrians can help decrease a significant amount of fatal accidents.
- Demonstration projects should be designed in order to help support these types of projects and to provide benchmarks.
Full Report
Confronting “Death on Wheels” // Chapter 6: World Bank Support for Road Safety Improvements in ECA and in Other Regions
- There are a decent amount of transportation and infrastructure projects that are being funded by the World Bank in the ECA. These are mostly geared toward road safety solutions such as repaving and extensions.
- Transparency of the grantee government comes into question frequently with these funds. More oversight is needed and more regulation.
Better data collection is needed; this can be done with betting monitoring and oversight, but requires financial resources and coordination of state and local agencies within the nation.
- A culture of road and pedestrian safety should be fostered in the nations. Target drunk driving, build safer roads, and support safe use of transportation infrastructure.
Full Report
- Transparency of the grantee government comes into question frequently with these funds. More oversight is needed and more regulation.
Better data collection is needed; this can be done with betting monitoring and oversight, but requires financial resources and coordination of state and local agencies within the nation.
- A culture of road and pedestrian safety should be fostered in the nations. Target drunk driving, build safer roads, and support safe use of transportation infrastructure.
Full Report
Confronting “Death on Wheels” // Chapter 5: Road Safety Approaches and Policies
- More investment and policy should be put towards road safety and prevention of accidents. Being able to build safe roads and promote legislation that allows for laws and enforcement are some of the best ways to increase safety.
- This chapter talks about the different organizations and groups that deal with this issue, and about institutional arrangements at the country level.
Full Report
- This chapter talks about the different organizations and groups that deal with this issue, and about institutional arrangements at the country level.
Full Report
Confronting “Death on Wheels” // Chapter 4: The Role of Health Systems in Preventing RTIs and Helping Victims
- A good health system can help reduce fatal accidents.
- The data available on road accidents is incomplete and under reported.
** I don’t really know why they included this chapter. Obviously the intent of a solid primary care system is to reduce fatalities and disabilities. There’s some recommendations, but this is really a health care policy discussion which is intertwined with roads, but can be separate and apart.
Full Report
- The data available on road accidents is incomplete and under reported.
** I don’t really know why they included this chapter. Obviously the intent of a solid primary care system is to reduce fatalities and disabilities. There’s some recommendations, but this is really a health care policy discussion which is intertwined with roads, but can be separate and apart.
Full Report
Confronting “Death on Wheels” // Chapter 3: Interventions and Results: What is the Evidence?
- Good road/intersection design, signage and safety features such as passing lanes are used frequently in high income nations and should be used more in developing countries.
- Seatbelts and other vehicle design requirements are a good way to reduce fatal injuries (average 11% according to the report).
- Education and legislation are only effective if enforced correctly and
consistently. Drunk driving is also apparently a huge issue. A few pages in the chapter read like they’re written by MADD. Side note, they are the reason that the legal drinking age in the US is 21. In order for states to get their federal highway funding, MADD lobbied that they had to increase the age to 21. Great reason for a law, right? More Information.
- Russia has been trying to deal with the issue of road safety however their infrastructure is decaying and is a large obstacle to road safety improvement.
Full Report
- Seatbelts and other vehicle design requirements are a good way to reduce fatal injuries (average 11% according to the report).
- Education and legislation are only effective if enforced correctly and
consistently. Drunk driving is also apparently a huge issue. A few pages in the chapter read like they’re written by MADD. Side note, they are the reason that the legal drinking age in the US is 21. In order for states to get their federal highway funding, MADD lobbied that they had to increase the age to 21. Great reason for a law, right? More Information.
- Russia has been trying to deal with the issue of road safety however their infrastructure is decaying and is a large obstacle to road safety improvement.
Full Report
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
News: Global Development Trends Monitor
"The fist issue of the Global Investment Trends Monitor (GITM) reports that global flows in foreign direct investment (FDI) rebounded during the second quarter of 2009. In the G20 economies, there was a 38% increase in such investment over the first quarter of 2009. As compared to the first quarter, UNCTAD´s Global FDI Quarterly Index rose from 70 to 115.
However, FDI flows remained much lower than during the corresponding period in 2008 -- the FDI quarterly index for the second quarter of 2009 was 45 points lower than it was a year ago. And initial indicators for the third quarter of 2009 show no signs of a further pickup.
Global FDI for 2009 as a whole is likely to be significantly lower than in 2008, despite the gradual improvement in the world business outlook, the Monitor estimates."
From the UN Conference on Trade and Development Source
However, FDI flows remained much lower than during the corresponding period in 2008 -- the FDI quarterly index for the second quarter of 2009 was 45 points lower than it was a year ago. And initial indicators for the third quarter of 2009 show no signs of a further pickup.
Global FDI for 2009 as a whole is likely to be significantly lower than in 2008, despite the gradual improvement in the world business outlook, the Monitor estimates."
From the UN Conference on Trade and Development Source
Confronting “Death on Wheels”: Making Roads Safe in Europe and Central Asia // Chapter 2: The Epidemic of Road Traffic Injuries
- RTI’s are growing, however this growth is in line with the spread of other diseases in developing nations. Passengers, pedestrians, and cyclists are the most in danger. This sounds more like a growing metropolitan issue.
- The World Bank and WHO predict that there will be an increase in RTI’s over the next twenty years.
- A considerable amount of these deaths are due to poor road condition and other infrastructure issues. In the CIS there are about three times as many RTI’s than the EU.
- Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation lead the RTI death rates in Who-Euro member nations in 2007 statistics. In later data, most of these deaths look like pedestrian and four-wheeled vehicles. Also, children and young adults die more frequently.
The report goes into some economic calculations on these deaths and tries to factor in other cost factors.
** Honestly I’m not finding this report that shocking. Children and young adults die more because they are not as hardy physically and some young adults may be behind the wheel themselves. Maybe I’m biased because I’ve lived in both types of US cities, one being very car oriented (Los Angeles, CA) and one being very pedestrian/light rail oriented (Portland, OR). I’ve almost been hit by cars walking and driving countless times due to various issues some infrastructure, some driver training, some my fault. I’ll contain the rest of my opinion until I finish the whole report.
report link
- The World Bank and WHO predict that there will be an increase in RTI’s over the next twenty years.
- A considerable amount of these deaths are due to poor road condition and other infrastructure issues. In the CIS there are about three times as many RTI’s than the EU.
- Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation lead the RTI death rates in Who-Euro member nations in 2007 statistics. In later data, most of these deaths look like pedestrian and four-wheeled vehicles. Also, children and young adults die more frequently.
The report goes into some economic calculations on these deaths and tries to factor in other cost factors.
** Honestly I’m not finding this report that shocking. Children and young adults die more because they are not as hardy physically and some young adults may be behind the wheel themselves. Maybe I’m biased because I’ve lived in both types of US cities, one being very car oriented (Los Angeles, CA) and one being very pedestrian/light rail oriented (Portland, OR). I’ve almost been hit by cars walking and driving countless times due to various issues some infrastructure, some driver training, some my fault. I’ll contain the rest of my opinion until I finish the whole report.
report link
